Railroad safety device.



c. H.'G0-0DPASTURE.

RAILROAD SAFETY DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1914.

1,136,793. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

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l IPL A TTOR/VEVS THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHCL, WASHINGTON, D. C,

C. H. GOODPASTURE! RAILROAD SAFETY DEVICE. APPLICATION ruin .I A N- 10.I914.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR 6 (RM TM CZarlea ZCGOOdWZMZG it? W BY CHARLES HENRYGOODPASTURE, 0F OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON.

RAILROAD SAFETY DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Application filed January 10, 1914. Serial No. 811,352.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. GoonrAs'rUnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and.

a resident of ()lympia, in the county of Thurston and State ofWashington, have invented a new and Improved Railroad Safety Device, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to railroad safety devices of a type suitable forgiving warning to operatives on board a moving train, in the event ofthe occurrence of a landslide, a snow slide, or other like casualtymaking a substantial disturbance in the condition of the roadbed.

More particularly stated, my invention comprehends a safety device,controllable directly by physical action of the landslide or itsequivalent, and associated with suitable alarm mechanism to warn theoperatives upon the moving train.

Reference is madeto the accompanymg drawings forming a part of thisspecification, and in which like letters indicate like parts.

Figure l is a perspective, showing my invention as used upon a railroadtrack. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section through the semaphoremechanism, and certain movable parts associated therewith, these partshere occupying predetermined abnormal posltions. Fig. 3 is a sectionsomewhat similar to Fig. 2, but showing-the movable parts as occupyingabnormal positions different from those they occupy in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isa detail view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing thetrap gate in its normal position.

The railroad track is shown at 5, and coinprises rails 6, 7, restingupon cross ties 8 and sills 9, 10 and 11 of various lengthsthese sills,however, all being longer than the cross ties. Extending upwardly fromthe sills 10, 11 are semaphore posts 12 and 13, which are spaced somedistance apart. Each of these semaphore posts is provided with a window14, having substantially the general form of: a sector, as indicated inF i 1.

iocated alongside of the railroad track, and disposed paralleltherewith, is a trap gate 15, which is situated between, and supportedby two gate posts 16, as may be understood from Fig. 4.. A cord 17, or

equivalent flexible connection, is controllable by the trap gate, andextends through a number of eyes 18, and engages a pulley 19, aroundwhich it bends. The cord is secured to a shuttle 20 which extends underthe rails 16, and directly across the track. The shuttle is providedwith comparatively thin portions 23, 24, extending inwardly that is,toward each other. These thin portions 23, 24 are not sufficientlymassive to endanger the rolling stock, and are so disposed that when theshuttle 20 is moved to the limit of its travel, in either of twodirections, one or the other of the portions 23, 24 will engage theupper or tread surface of the adjacent rail 6 or 7. Torpedoes 25, 26,which are in the nature of detonating caps or wafers, are secured uponthe portions 23 and 24, and are each so located as to be broughtdirectly over the adjacent rail when the shuttle is moved into itsextreme positions, as above stated. The shuttle 2O rests uponantifriction rollers 27, in order that it may be readily moved endwise.A cord 28 is secured to the end portion 22 of the shuttle, and engages apulley 29, supported by the semaphore post 12,"as indicated in Figs. 2and 3.

A sleeve 30 is revolubly mounted upon a pintle 31 which extends throughthe upper portions of the semaphore post. The sleeve 30 carries a pairof oppositely disposed target leaves 33, 34, preferably colored red, andeach having substantially the form of a sector. By this arrangement wheneither target leaf 33 or 34 extends directly upward from the pintle 31,the window 14 displays the red color of the target leaf. When, how ever,the leaves 33 and 34 extend horizontally from the pintle, the windowappears clear, or at least does not display any red color. The parts areso proportioned and arranged that the window displays the red colorwhenever the shuttle 20 is at the limit of its travel in either of twodirections. WVhen, however, the shuttle occupies its normal position,midway between the limits of its travel, the semaphore window displaysno red color. A counterweight 32, secured to the end of the cord 28which engages the sleeve 30, serves to maintain the cords 17 and 28sutficiently taut at all times, and also to move the shuttle 20 to thelimit of its travel in one direction, in the event that the cord 17becomes broken or cut by accident.

The trap gate 15 is mounted upon stub shafts 35, the latter extendingthrough the lower portions of the gate posts 16, as indiand extends fromone to the other of the semaphore posts 12 and 13.

Vhen' all of the movable parts occupy their respective normal positions,the win dow 14: of each semaphore post appears clear, each shuttle 20occupies a position intermediate between the limits of its travel, thetorpedoes 25, 26 are spaced a few inches from the adjacent rails 6, 7,and the trap gate extends directly upward, being practically balancedupon the shafts 35, and also held'in its vertical position by thetension of the cord 17, this tension being maintained constantly by theweights 32. At 38 (Fig. 1) is shown an embankment or mass of earth,portions of which may, owing to. conditions of weather, become detachedand slide toward the railroad track. The operation of my device is asfollows: The parts being assembled and arranged as above described, andthe various movable parts being brought into their respective normalpositions, the torpedoes 25, 26 are secured in place, and the device asa whole remains in this conditions indefinitely. Sup pose, however, thata quantity of earth or snow from the embankment 38 slides down andpresses against the trap gate 15, the trap gate is thereby swunginwardly, or toward'the railroad track. The cord 17 is pulled, and eachshuttle 20 is moved, to the limit of its travel to the left according to--Fig. 1. The torpedo 26 is thus brought directly over the adjacent rail7, as indicated in Fig. 2. The target leaf 33 is now visible through thewindow 14:, and consequently the semaphore displays a red color. 'If,atthis juncture, a train approaches the trap gate from either direction ofthe railroad track, the operatives of the train have an opportunity tonote the red color displayed by the semaphore, and therefore to beapprised of danger and thus enabled to bring the train to a stop. If,however, the visual signal is not heeded, the wheels of the train soonengage a torpedo 26, which is thereby caused to detonate and thus givean audible signal, enabling the operatives to stop the train. Suppose,however, that in consequence of a freshet, a landslide, or similarcasualty, the cord 17 is cut or broken. In this event each weight 32will move the shuttle 20, immediately associated with it, into theposition indicated in'Fig. 4. Therefore, a train, approaching the trapgate from either direction, will cause a torpedo 25 to detonate. The netresult, therefore, is that in the event of the trap gate being throwndown or swung out of its normal position, or of the cord 17 beingdestroyed, a warning is given to the operatives of any train approachingthe trap gate. 7

I do not limit myself to the precise construction shown, as variationsmay be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is asfollows: V 1. In a railroad safety device,the"com'-V bination of a rail, a shuttle disposed under said rail andprovided with an upwardly ex-. tending end member at the outer side ofthe rail, the end member having an inwardly extending portion carrying atorpedo, ,and adapted when the shuttleis actuated to engage the upper ortread surface of said rail in order to enable said torpedov to be ex:-

ploded by a train' moving relatively to said- I rail, and mechanismcontrollable by abnormal conditions of the railroad: track fo actuatingsaid shuttle.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a trackprovided with a plurality of'rails, a shuttle movable relatively to saidrails and provided with means for placing torpedoes thereover,

mechanism controllable by a landslide or similar casualty formoving'saidshuttle to the limit of-its travel in one direction,mechanism including a counterweight for mov-' ing said shuttle tothelimit of its travel the opposite direction, and a plurality of vtorpedoes carried by said shuttle, said 'torpe- 5 does being so disposedthat when said shuttle is at the limit of its travel in one direc-.tion, one of said torpedoes is-adjacent to one of said rails, and whensaid shuttle is J at the limit of its travel in the opposite direction,another of said torpedoes is adjacent another of said rails.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a shuttle 'movablerelative to the track rails, means connected with one V end of theshuttle for controlling-the movementof the shuttle in one direction,mechanism connected with the other end of the shuttle for moving thesame in the opposite direction, the said mechanism including a cord anda counterweight, and torpedoes carried by the shuttle, one of saidtorpedoes being adapted to be brought into close proximity to one ofsaid rails, when the'shuttle is moved in either direction. 7, V V

4. In a device of the'character'described, the combination with trackrails, of a, shuttle movable relative to therails and provided at itsends with means for carrying torpedoes, the supporting means for the torpedoes being normally spaced from the rails, mechanism controllable byabnormal conditions of the railroad track, for moving the shuttle in onedirection, to place one of said torpedoes in position to be exploded bya train, and mechanism for moving the said shuttle in the oppositedirection to place the other torpedo in position to be exploded by atrain.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with therails of a track, of a shuttle movable relative to the rails, torpedoescarried by the shuttle at the ends thereof and adapted to be moved overthe rails, as the shuttle reaches the limit of its travel in eitherdirection, means connected with one end of the shuttle and controllableby abnormal conditions of the railroad track for moving the shuttle tothe limit of its travel in one direction, mechanism connected with theother end of said shuttle for moving the shuttle to the limit of itstravel in the opposite direction, and a visual signal actuated when theshuttle is moved in either direction.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with thetrack rails, of a shuttle movable relative to said rails, torpedoescarried by the shuttle at the ends thereof and adapted to be moved overthe rails as the shuttle reaches the limit of its travel in eitherdirection, the shuttle normally occupying a position midway between thelimits of its travel, means connected with one end of the shuttle andcontrollable by abnormal conditions of the railroad track, for movingthe shuttle to the limit of its-travel in one direction, a flexiblemember connected with the other end of said shuttle and provided with acounterweight, for moving the shuttle to the limit of its travel in theopposite direction, and a visual signal controlled by the movement ofsaid flexible member and displayed when the shuttle is at the limit ofits travel in either direc tion.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with the trackrails, of a movable shuttle extending under the rails and across thetrack and resting on anti-friction rollers, the shuttle being providedwith members adapted to support torpedoes, the said shuttle when movedto the limit of its travel in either direction being adapted to bring atorpedo directly over a rail, and means controllable by abnormalconditions, for actuating said shuttle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES HENRY GOODPASTURE.

Witnesses:

CHAS. D. KING, ADAH CLEVELAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C'.

